Structural and functional signatures of executive deficits after early use of cocaine depend upon route of administration

DE LA FUENTE, LAURA ALETHIA

Virtual

Congreso; FLUX Society congress; 2021

FLUX

Rationale, despite evidence that the route of administration impacts on short and long-term effects of cocaine consumption, the neurophysiological basis remains controversial. Given that cocaine affects executive and reward system, clarification of neurophysiological basis related to administration route differential profiles, particularly involving clinically relevant measures may inform treatment to improve adherence and success. Objectives, evaluate the impact of administration route over clinically relevant neuropsychological and physiological variables between individuals with histories of smoked cocaine dependence (SCD) and cocaine hydrochloride dependence (ICD). Methods, we evaluated SCD and ICD subjects, and healthy controls with an exhaustive neuropsychological battery. We complemented this assessment with structural (MRI) and functional (fMRI) neuroimaging data. Results, we found that executive function and attention impairments could be explained by the administration route of cocaine, with strongest impairments for the SCD group. Consistent with risk models, the executive-attention deficit was best explained by age and age at the first use of the drug. Particularly, SCD presented reduced grey matter density in the bilateral caudate, and functional connectivity between left caudate and inferior frontal regions mediated the performance-structure association for SCD. Conclusions, the neurocognitive profiles associated with different routes of cocaine administration were related to structural abnormalities of the caudate nucleus and its functional connectivity with key executive and attentional networks. This result points towards the relevance of assessing the route of administration, both in clinical and research settings.